


city of stars, are you shining just for me?

by Kenmabear



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Space, Crack, Far Future, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Slow Burn, Space Opera, Space Pirates, Strangers to Lovers, characters will be added later, side kuroken, some violence ? but not graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27156397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kenmabear/pseuds/Kenmabear
Summary: “Wait, so, what did you even do to end up in a maximum security prison ship?”“Dude,”Kuroo hissed. “You can’t just ask people why they were in space jail!”or: bokuaka in space
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	city of stars, are you shining just for me?

**Author's Note:**

> hi so this is the first work I’ve posted on here in quite a while. i was sad to find the very small amount of bokuaka in space fics so I wrote my own lmao 
> 
> there will be some violence in this but it’s not really graphic enough to warrant the warning, and if anything comes up in later chapters I’ll post a warning in the notes at the beginning! ill also be adding tags and characters as I go :) 
> 
> also, the title is from ‘city of stars’ from lalaland! it’ll be more relevant later on 
> 
> hope you enjoy

If you asked Bokuto to reflect on the worst decisions of his relatively short career, this one would probably come out at #3, after being born, and meeting Kuroo. Those were pretty hard to top. 

But right now, it definitely felt like the worst. Top of the list, pass go and collect $200, straight to jail, down the steps to hell, and into the fiery ass crack of the devil. 

It had been the moment that the metal doors connecting the control room he stood in to the hallway leading to the rest of the ship shut that Bokuto knew he was in deep shit. He’d jumped from the _Fukurou_ onto the foreign vessel roughly 10 minutes ago, and found the spacecraft eerily deserted. 

Now, the only entrance and exit to the control room were shut. He was trapped in, and he had quite literally no idea how to operate this model. He couldn’t have reopened the doors if he had tried, and if the loud clunking and gunshots were anything to go off, he was royally fucked up the ass if he didn’t figure something out soon. 

“Bo? What the fuck is going on?” Rang a scratchy voice through his earpiece. Fuck, Kuroo was gonna be so mad when he explained all this. He opened his mouth to hurry a quick word of reassurance that _sure, I’m trapped in an enemy ship, and the plan I spent all of 20 minutes on but told you would be completely easy in and out has gone to absolute shit and I’m 60% sure I’m gonna be dead in the next 3 minutes, but trust me bro it’s alright_ when he was cut off by a sudden blast through the metal doors, sending Bokuto flying through the room. 

The last thing Bokuto felt before his vision turned black and his body slumped from his control was his back and head hitting one of the many control panels behind him, the buttons and levers digging painfully into his skin. He was so, so fucked. 

-

Normally, when one wakes from falling unconscious, they see the bright lights of an infirmary wing or a hospital above them. Their friends, or maybe a lover, leaning worriedly over them. Their hearing slowly comes to, and everybody heaves a sigh of relief that they aren’t dead.

Bokuto, however, lay in a rather unflattering position on the spacecraft’s cold floor, his face flat down and his ass stuck up in the air. He was pretty sure his nose was broken, too. 

With a groan, he placed a shaky hand down in front of him and pushed his upper body up until he was on his knees, a slightly more dignified position than his first. Gunshots rang through the room, though they didn’t quite reach his ears, as if they were faraway and hopefully not aimed at him. 

He shakily blinked a few times, his blurry vision slowly beginning to gain clarity and his hearing starting to return. 

It was then that Bokuto decided he must still be out of it, because there were definitely more people in the room than there had been just before. Like, way more. A few steps in front of him stood a man he had never seen before, dressed in full black clothes which clearly had been through, well, a lot. Black cargo pants with rips in the knees (not a stylistic choice, he noted) and tattered at the ankles. They were far too large on him. The man’s back was too him, so he couldn’t quite judge the fashion choices of on his upper body just yet. 

The man held a wide stance with a slight crouch in the knees, and held a blaster in both arms. It took a moment for Bokuto to register that the gunshots he had awoken to were in fact coming from this blaster, held by this man. In front of said man, and facing towards Bokuto, were a hoard of soldiers, with blasters identical to the one mentioned before. There were 4 bodies on the ground, a darkened purple liquid oozing out of their armoured suits and pooling on the cold hard floor beneath. Bokuto felt his heart sink. They were Virinians. 

It hit Bokuto like a brick to the head that maybe he should be helping out the guy who he presumed was protecting him, instead of sitting there like a dumbass commentating the shoot out to himself. He reached an arm behind his back to where he knew his own blaster sat, having somehow not fallen from his back pocket on impact. It was a small thing, no bigger than the ancient pistol, but certainly came in handy in terms of concealment and easy wielding. It certainly was no match for the heavy duty blasters everybody else seemed to have (He wasn’t being salty. Not at all.) but it would have to do. 

Bokuto winced as he raised the blaster, his shoulder screaming in pain at the movement. There was a Virinian soldier taking aim at mystery man, and Bokuto felt himself panic. If the man went down, then so did he. He hastily fired the blaster, somehow (accidentally?) managing to hit the soldier square between the eyes. It was definitely an accident, he’d been aiming for the chest, but he wasn’t exactly going to pass up a perfect shot. 

“Nice!” He cheered time himself, the perfectly normal way that normal people normally do. He was definitely gonna tell Kuroo about this one. 

Oh, fuck. Kuroo. 

He’d been so caught up in his newly found action that he had completely missed the fact that his ear piece was now a floor piece. “Fuck.” He cursed. There was debris everywhere from the initial blast of the door, and the ear piece was tiny. _Fuck._

Bokuto whipped his head around, wincing at the immediate feeling of needing to cough up his lunch. He definitely hit his head, and hard. There were scraps of metal everywhere. Bokuto swept his hand across the floor, his eyes desperately scanning for the tiny black and white ear-shaped device. Then, as he tossed away a chunk of what looked like the remnants of a control stick, he found it. He snatched it up, jamming the device back into his ear. He prayed to whatever and whoever was out there that it was still functional, as if he wasn’t fucked before, he was definitely fucked now if it was broken. 

“-kuto? Dude, fuck! Answer!” Kuroo’s voice came through his ear, and Bokuto thanked the heavens. The audio was scratchy and faint, the in ear having certainly sustained some damage, but it was functional, and that’s all that mattered. 

“Kuroo! Get me out of here!” He shrieked, ducking to avoid a blaster shot that narrowly missed the tips of his hair. “Kenma’s not here, it was a fucking trap!” 

At his outburst, mystery man’s head whipped around, eyes wide with shock. In the time that Bokuto had spent searching for his ear piece, another two soldiers had fallen, and one currently lay in a headlock in mystery man’s arms. If he wasn’t terrified for his life at the present time, Bokuto almost would have been turned on. 

In mystery man’s moment of distraction, the last remaining soldier save for the one inside the death grip charged forward, the back of his blaster held high as he raised it to issue a strike at mystery man’s head. Bokuto took a shaky aim again, his shoulder screaming in protest. He fired the shot, managing to hit the soldier in the side. It was enough to buy time for his unknown saviour to deliver a final sickening twist to the soldier in his arm’s neck, and take a well aimed shot at the wounded soldier’s head. Shit, this guy was fucking _good._

“Bokuto!” He was snapped back to reality by Kuroo’s frantic voice through the in ear. “Get your ass back here! I’m docking, so hurry the fuck up!” Shit, he mentally cursed. He had to get the fuck out of here. 

There was no time for introductions, or even a short _hey thanks for saving my life stranger_ and he had no clue if there were more soldiers on the way. Without much thought, Bokuto propelled himself upwards, and towards the stranger, but clearly overestimated his own strength and toppled over again. His entire body screamed with pain. 

He locked eyes with the mystery stranger, sending him a pleading look. “Get me to the docking connector and I’ll repay you. Please.” He begged. It was difficult to judge the expression of the other man, his features made little movement and for a second Bokuto thought maybe he was going to get kidnapped and murdered. Something about a man in tattered black clothing, grime and dirt streamed on his face and unkempt hair didn’t exactly scream safety, after all. But before he could judge any further, the man had stepped forward, boots thumping against the metal of the floor, and outstretched a a dirty hand. Bokuto grasped it firmly, and the next thing he knew he was being hauled over the man’s shoulder. 

His lower back ached and his head throbbed with pain, but Bokuto wasn’t complaining. As the man moved through the hallway and towards the dock connector (he wasn’t entirely sure how the man knew the ship so well. Bokuto had stumbled in and out of rooms upon entry like a blind mouse) he was able to get a better look at his saviour. The man was about his size, though his body was leaner and slightly more tanned. He was impressed at his ability to lift him, honestly. He wasn’t exactly light. It was all muscle, though, Bokuto thought proudly. 

As they reached the dock connector, mystery man pulled open a latch on the wall revealing a control panel. The labels were all in Virinian, yet he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. After a moment, the dock sealed and the sliders opened to reveal the interior of the _Fukurou_ before them. Within a few moments, Kuroo was rushing towards them, a panicked expression on his normally smug features. 

Kuroo skid to a halt, staring wide eyed at the sight of mystery man and Bokuto. “Uh, should I ask?”

“No. Just get us the fuck out of here before backup shows up!” 

Kuroo turned on his heels, beckoning mystery man forward with his hand. He led them to the cockpit, where two pilot’s chairs sat before a large panel of controls. Kuroo hastily sat down in the seat on the left, punching in buttons to initiate their departure. 

As the ship surged forward, Bokuto began to feel his head spin again. His limbs felt awfully heavy for somebody who wasn’t bearing any of their own weight, but his mind was rightfully blurry for somebody who probably had a nasty concussion. Bokuto faintly registered Kuroo’s panicked yell as something knocked the ship sideways, before his mind went blank and limbs went limp, and he slipped out of consciousness once again. 

-

This time around, Bokuto succeeded in waking to the bright lights of an infirmary wing. Well, it resembled an Earth high school’s nurse’s office more than an infirmary wing, considering they had nothing more than common and basic medical supplies and the room could only fit two people inside at once. Whatever, he’d take it. 

“Oh, shit, you’re awake!” 

Bokuto’s head throbbed painfully at the sudden noise, which he recognised to be Kuroo. That meant they were both alive, at the very least. Kuroo’s mop of messy hair entered into his vision as he leaned over Bokuto’s body. He had been laid down flat on his back on the bed (a table with a blanket on it) and his head propped up by a pillow (a t shirt with more t shirts inside of it.) 

“Dude, I feel like ass.” He groaned, raising a hand slightly in an attempt to touch his throbbing head, but quickly aborting this idea as his shoulder burned in pain. He chose to ignore the pitiful wince Kuroo sent his way. 

“Honestly, man, you wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for that guy that dragged you off the ship. He really saved your ass.” Bokuto’s eyes widened, and he frantically racked his brain for a memory of his dark and mysterious saviour. He could remember waking up (the first time) to a man wearing tattered black clothes, and then the man carrying him off the Virinian ship fireman lift style. He’d looked in a pretty awful state, with matted hair and grime on his skin. Bokuto winced at the memory. Kind of embarrassing he’d had to be rescued damsel in distress style. 

“Where is he, by the way? I should probably thank him or something.” Bokuto mumbled, shooting a side glance at Kuroo who had sat back down after the initial surprise of his awakening. 

Kuroo gave a nonchalant shrug, waving a dismissive hand. “I don’t know, I told him to go clean himself up, cause he looked pretty bad. He didn’t really talk much.” He paused for a second. “Oh, I gave him your pants, by the way. Mine are too long for him.”

Bokuto blinked. “Which ones?” 

“The ones you got from Naveer.” 

“ _Dude,_ those were expensive!” He whined, shooting Kuroo a large and over dramatic pout. Holidaying in Naveer was not cheap, and neither were the souvenirs. Kuroo was an asshole. “Did you like, talk to him or anything? I feel kinda bad.” 

Kuroo shook his head. “Not really. He was kinda quiet, maybe shy? He thanked me for saving him, which was confusing, cause he saved you. So I don’t know what’s up with that.” He shrugged, not seeming overly bothered by the entire situation. 

Saving him? Bokuto frowned, him and Kuroo hadn’t saved him. “Did you catch his name? I wanna go thank him, if my legs work.” Kuroo once again shook his head. “Nah, I didn’t.” Bokuto hummed thoughtfully at this. 

“Well, I’m gonna get up and-“ Bokuto was cut off by Kuroo immediately raising to his feet, stretching an arm out to block him from attempting to rise. “Uh, no the fuck you’re not.” Bokuto opened his mouth to protest this, but was once again cut off. “If you so desperately want to thank him, I’ll go grab him and bring him here, alright? Just stay the fuck still for now.” 

Bokuto nodded along dumbly whilst Kuroo slipped out of the room. Honestly, bringing a stranger onto the ship was not exactly what he’d planned when they made contact with the Virinian vessel. Not too long ago, they’d been hunted down while at a trade city by Virinian police. On land, they were unable to escape, and their third crew mate as well as technical and tactical expert Kenma had been captured. He was their brain. Without him, their planning and collection of necessary data had gone to complete shit, such as their most recent failure showed. 

Without Kenma’s hacking skills, they’d had to rely on other, less reliable means for collecting their intel, as they forged a plan to rescue their beloved crew mate. Yaku, a long time friend of Kuroo’s, had heard word of a recently captured prisoner being transported from the Jahra sector to a prison ship in the Kazaki system, and would be passing through the FKR-5 void at approximately 07:23 void time. Yaku had been correct, as he often was (Bokuto didn’t want to stick his nose into where Yaku’s sources came from. That was dodgy shit.) and there had indeed been a transport vessel, an Astral-22 model, to be exact. 

Bokuto had made the jump in hopes of a speedy in-and-out rescue, where they would connect, he would find the holder within the ship, grab Kenma, and get the fuck out. Clearly, this had not gone to plan. 

Before he could regret his shoddy plan any further, he was interrupted by a soft knock on the frame of the entrance to the small infirmary. In the doorway stood the mystery man, and god damn, did Bokuto’s brain short circuit. When Kuroo has said he’d sent the guy to go and clean up, he was right. Maybe it was because he’d been in a life or death situation on their first encounter, but had Bokuto completely overlooked how attractive this guy was? 

He looked roughly Bokuto’s height, maybe a bit shorter. He was a lean yet muscular build, and now after he had presumably showered, his glowing skin was visible where it had previously been covered in dirt and grime. The man had sharp features, with a jawline that could probably cut Bokuto in half, and dark eyes that he wasn’t entirely sure whether they were blue or green. The matted mop of hair had been washed and brushed out nicely, and had sprung up into soft black curls. Bokuto was pretty sure he was drooling. 

“-wanted to say thanks for letting me onto your ship, I know this was all kind of crazy, so I can leave whenever you next touch down.” Oh, fuck. He was talking. To him. He had completely zoned out and missed the first half of his sentence. 

“Uh.” Bokuto supplied helpfully. “I’m... I’m Bokuto.”

Maybe death wasn’t such a bad option. 

“Right.” The man blinked, his expression unmoving. Oh god, he’d totally just weirded him out. He was an idiot. “Your friend said you wanted to talk to me?” 

Bokuto nodded, wincing slightly at the pain in his head following the action. “Uh, yeah.” He mumbled. This was the most awkward he’d been, well, ever. “Thanks for saving my ass back there.” 

The other man’s features morphed into one of confusion, and boy, his nose scrunch and the furrowing of his dark eyebrows made Bokuto’s heart go into hyperspace. “I didn’t save you. You saved me.” 

What.

Bokuto couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, though the matter-of-fact tone and the hard gaze directed at him gave a slight inkling that he was. Geez, and Bokuto thought _he_ was a dumbass. “Well, I know I blacked out like, twice.” He countered. “But when I woke up you were fighting off like a gajillion soldiers all by yourself.” If it weren’t for the state of his body, and the fact that his brain had short circuited a minute prior, Bokuto would have smacked this guy over the head. 

“Well, I found you by the control panel after the bars in my cell suddenly opened. So, I assumed it was you?” The other man’s voice tapered off slightly towards the end of his question, as realisation dawned on his features. Bokuto immediately panicked as his shoulders noticeably slumped. 

“Okay, wait!” He interrupted before mystery guy could become any further sullen looking. “It was an accident, yes, I got exploded onto the controls which I guess is what released the bars? I don’t know. But you’re here now! Right? That’s all that matters.” Bokuto’s logic was definitely flawed. 

Then, realisation dawned on him. 

If they had jumped onto the transport vessel, headed for a Virinian prison ship, and Kenma, the criminal they’d thought would be on the ship, was not in fact in the ship, then... That must mean this guy was a criminal too. A criminal who was an enemy of the Virinians, and had been captured and en route to one of the most notorious prison ships in the galaxy. 

Well, Bokuto figured, the enemy of his enemy was his friend. Especially if said enemy of his enemy was that good looking. It’s not like his own record was squeaky clean either. Far from it, actually. 

Bokuto received no reply, and the two fell into an awkward science. He watched as the other man raised his own hands gently towards himself, picking at his nails and pulling at the skin around them, his brow furrowed ever so slightly with what almost seemed like an anxious expression. It was a stark contrast to the image he had seen back on the transport vessel, and Bokuto almost wondered if he was even the same person. 

The stranger was intriguing, was how he mentally justified his fixed gaze on him. The air in the infirmary grew heavier by the moment, and the silence grew thicker. Well, if this guy was gonna be in the ship with them for however long until they landed next, he may as well get to know him. That was the reason. The only reason. The fact that he was likely the most attractive stranger he’d ever met had absolutely nothing to do with it. 

“Do you have a name?” Is what actually came out of Bokuto’s mouth. So much for trying to start a normal conversation. It hadn’t even come out flirty, like when Kuroo does it. He was really starting to think death couldn’t be that bad. 

The other man seemed to jolt out of his momentary stupor, his hands quickly dropping down to his sides. At first, Bokuto thought he hadn’t heard him properly, and thought maybe luck may have been on his side just this once, and he could rephrase his question, but then the reply came just a moment later. 

“Akaashi.” 

Akaashi. It suited him. Bokuto was glad to not have to mentally refer to him as ‘mystery man’ anymore. “Right! Akaashi. I’m Bokuto.” 

“I know.”

Bokuto blinked. “Right. Um. This is my ship, and that other guy you met before is Kuroo.” 

Akaashi nodded silently, his expression refusing to reveal any thoughts or emotions. Bokuto wondered if he was silently devising a plan to kill him. He kind of wished he was. 

“Do you know when you’ll next be landing?” Akaashi questioned after a moment. Bokuto was somewhat surprised that he was more concerned with when, and not where. 

“Honestly?” Bokuto hummed. “I don’t know. If you can get Kuroo in here we can discuss.” He shrugged. He assumed they would need to touch down soon, likely get some minor fixes done on the ship after their latest run in, and figure out the next course of action for tracking down Kenma. 

Akaashi nodded, exiting the room and disappearing from Bokuto’s line of sight a short moment later. He wondered if he should have given him directions beforehand. 

-

“Alright, well,” Kuroo began. “We’re currently headed for Valeris.” Bokuto whined at this, choosing to ignore Kuroo poking his tongue at him in response. “I know he made fun of your hair last time,” He deflated at the memory. “But we need our shields fixed, so we can keep looking for Kenma.” 

After an attempt to fit the three of them (both Kuroo and Bokuto over 6ft, as well) into the infirmary had failed, they had relocated to the hull where the impending discussion could be had more comfortably. 

“Who’s Kenma?” Akaashi queried after a moment’s hesitation. Kuroo and Bokuto glanced around each other, Kuroo’s face morphing into one of horror as he realised what Bokuto was about to do. 

“Bo-“ He began, but it was too late. 

“Kenma is Kuroo’s _boyfriend._ ” He sent him sly grin, which was returned with the finger. “Harsh.” He huffed. 

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Kuroo muttered, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. 

He laughed at Kuroo’s bothered expression. “Sorry, he’s Kuroo’s very good friend that he happens to be whipped over. They go way back.” Kuroo didn’t appear overly pleased with this explanation either, but it’s not like Bokuto was too far off the mark. 

Kuroo gave him a final glare, before returning his gaze back to Akaashi, who had remained silent and unimpressed throughout Bokuto’s explanation. “Kenma’s our crew mate. He was captured by Virinian forces about a week ago,” Kuroo ran a hand through his messy mop of hair, his expression growing increasingly worried as he spoke. “We believed he may have been on the transporter you were on.” 

“I see.” Akaashi hummed, and Bokuto almost missed the way his slender fingers began to pick at themselves. “Did you say it was a week ago, he was captured?” 

They nodded simultaneously, Kuroo’s eyes downcast. 

“And what does he look like?” 

“Kind of like a real grumpy cat.” Akaashi stared at him, and Bokuto once again remembered that not everybody was familiar with the native fauna of Earth. “He’s short, about this high.” He raised an arm to the upper half of his chest. “Hair dyed blonde, could use a touch up on the roots. Could also use some more meat on his bones.”

Akaashi hesitated for a few short moments, taking in the description. “I think I saw him. There was someone on the holder who looked a bit like that, before I was moved to my own transporter.”

Kuroo just about fell over, despite the fact that he was seated, at the information Akaashi had just supplied. “Wait, actually?!” 

“Yeah. That’s what I just said.” Akaashi blinked. Bokuto snickered. “I was in a temporary cell, and there was a guy who looked about my age in the one opposite me.” Akaashi hummed softly, gaze directed upwards as he attempted to recall the events. “He looked like you described, shortish and with dyed blonde hair. Roots were showing, I’m pretty sure.” 

Bokuto nodded along to Akaashi’s story, glancing sideways every few moments towards Kuroo who’s eyes had lit up with hope. He figured it was be a low blow to give him too much shit over it. 

“I remember being annoyed because he hadn’t been restrained, and left to just sit there while I got my hands and ankles cuffed.” A scowl fell over Akaashi’s sharp features. 

He stared at Akaashi for a short moment, his mouth slightly agape. 

“Wait, so, what did you even do to end up in a maximum security prison ship?” 

_“Dude,”_ Kuroo hissed. “You can’t just ask people why they were in space jail!” 

Bokuto pouted, crossing him arms with a huff. “Well, how are we all meant to bond, then? We’re just getting it out of the way.” He grumbled. “We’re all criminals here, it’s fine.” 

He cast his gaze back towards Akaashi, who was waiting patiently for the two to stop bickering. “Well, technically I was arrested for a ship parking violation.” He paused, as if contemplating whether to continue. “They ran my plates, and next thing I know I’ve lost my ship and I’m being thrown in prison for ‘crimes against the empire.’” Akaashi gave them a cryptic smile, which shot a shiver down Bokuto’s spine. He made a mental note not to cross this guy. 

“Alright!” Kuroo clapped his hands together, drawing the attention towards himself. “That’s terrifying. Now, back to business.” 

“You mean back to talking about your boyfriend?” Bokuto snickered.

“I’m going to ignore that.” Kuroo huffed, turning to deliberately face away from Bokuto and towards Akaashi. “Do you have any idea where he might be?” 

Akaashi once again paused before speaking, and Bokuto wondered whether the action was merely a habit or whether it was a conscious decision. “The guard moved him around an hour before I was taken to the transporter.” He took a short breath, fingers fiddling at each other as he considered his next answer. “I didn’t see where they took him, but I imagine he’d be headed for the same prison ship as I was, since our cells were in the same area.” Akaashi shrugged. “I don’t know, though.” He quickly added at the end, as if shrugging all accountability off of his shoulders.

Kuroo hummed softly, his fingers tapping softly against his knees as he carefully considered Akaashi’s recount. After a moment of thought, he leaned forward with a devilish sparkle in his eyes, one which Bokuto recognised as being the sparkle of a newly formed idea.

“Say, Akaashi.” Kuroo grinned, clasping his two hands together in a scheming matter. “How’d you like to join the rescue effort?” There was a sharp gleam to his eye which betrayed the hidden demand. Bokuto shivered at transformation of his typically goofy and laidback crew mate to the sly and threatening man in front of him. He made a mental note to never become whipped over a fellow teammate. He wasn’t entirely sure he was capable of the demon-like state Kuroo currently embodied. 

If Akaashi was affected by Kuroo, he certainly didn’t show it. Bokuto imagined he could kick his ass if he really wanted to, anyway. 

“I’m sure that can be arranged.” Akaashi answered rather blankly, a reaction which Kuroo had clearly not expected. He defaulted back to his more regular self, the menacing glint gone and instead replaced with a nervous stutter and a frantic glance thrown towards Bokuto, which he returned with a shrug as if to say _don’t look at me, dude._

“Well!” Bokuto clapped his hands together with a grin. “Enough of that. Let’s get you settled, if you’re gonna be with us for the foreseeable future.”

\- 

For somebody who Bokuto assumed had just had his life turned on it’s head, Akaashi genuinely didn’t seem bothered by any of the current events, including the fact that the only spare sleeping pod on the ship lay across from Bokuto’s. He’d apologised while informing the other man that the ship only held two small sleeping quarters, each across from each other and separated only by a narrow hallway. There were two pods, each built into the wall of the craft and sealed by a transparent blast-proof glass door of sorts, for in the case of any turbulence or hits to the ship. 

Kuroo and Kenma occupied the other room, and honestly, Bokuto wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about rooming with a likely big time space-criminal, but then again, the big-time space criminal also had to room with him. 

“Your friend doesn’t seem to like me.” Akaashi mumbled, the first time he had spoken up since they had exited the hull. 

“I don’t think it’s that.” He hummed, punching in the code to the pin pad outside the room. “Kuroo’s great, he’s just real focused on getting Kenma back.” The door slid open, revealing the room they lay behind. It was small, and would have been a lot better cleaned if Bokuto knew that they’d be having guests over. 

“His boyfriend?”

Bokuto nearly choked, a short laugh slipping from his lips. “No, no. Unfortunately.” Akaashi shot him a confused look. “They’re not actually together, but the pining is excruciating.” This explanation seemed to work well enough, earning him a nod of understanding. 

“So, um, you can take that bed over there.” He waved a hand towards the empty bed, which lay opposite from Bokuto’s own. “We should touch down in Valeris pretty soon. Then we’ll start search and rescue.”

Akaashi nodded again, taking a moment to lay down on the bed he’d been assigned to. Bokuto couldn’t help but let his eyes linger on the figure of the other man, his eyes catching on the way he fidgeted in an attempt to get comfortable. 

“I’m sorry you got all caught up in this.” Bokuto found himself apologising, though he wasn’t sure why. He was almost entirely sure if Akaashi felt strongly against it he wouldn’t have agreed, but he couldn’t help the small itching feeling in the back of his mind that they were holding him against his will. 

“Don’t be.” The other man spoke after a moment of silence. “I’m better off here than where I was before.” 

He hadn’t thought of it like that. When he did, he supposed there was an element of truth to Akaashi’s words. 

“Besides.” Akaashi’s head turned to face him, a small smile adorning his sharp features. “I’m sure we’ll make a great team.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! let me know what you think or any suggestions :)


End file.
